Tokamak equilibria with reversed current density

Tokamak equilibria with toroidal-current reversal in the plasma core consistent with experimental data

For the first time, tokamak equilibria with negative toroidal current flowing in the plasma core are computed consistently with available measurements from typical current-hole discharges. The equilibrium reconstruction, which leads to non-nested configurations where a system of axisymmetric magnetic islands unfolds, yields an overall good agreement between the computed and experimental plasma-pressure profiles, together with an excellent fit to motional-Stark-effect data. Therefore, considering the accuracy limits of present-day experimental results, care must be exercised when ruling out the existence of tokamak equilibria with central toroidal-current reversal, particularly if relying on reconstruction tools that cannot cope with non-nested configurations.

Current clamp at zero level in JT-60U current hole plasmas

It is found that no current is driven in a central region of a tokamak plasma once the central current density becomes nearly zero ("current hole"), in spite of high electric conductivity, at the current drive by a toroidal electric field and a radio-frequency wave in experiments on the JT-60U tokamak. This is a new, stiff, self-organized structure of a magnetic field in an axisymmetric toroidal plasma.

Grad-Shafranov equilibria with negative core toroidal current in Tokamak plasmas

Numerical Grad-Shafranov (GS) equilibria with negative current density in the plasma core are computed which do not impose any particularly chosen models for the pressure and current-density profiles. This flexibility allows the profiles to be tailored so that an island unfolds in the low-field side, even for elongated plasmas, thus sustaining the negative-current core against outward forces. Among other topological results, reversed GS equilibria are also shown to be necessarily non-nested, except for the cylindrical and other very special degenerate, hence structurally unstable cases.

Theory of tokamak equilibria with central current density reversal

It is found that, with a model current profile, the Grad-Shafranov equation can be reduced to the Helmholtz equation, which can describe a variety of equilibrium configurations. With the eigenvalue problem solved in the toroidal coordinate system, an analytical solution to the Grad-Shafranov equation is found. It is demonstrated that current reversal equilibrium configurations exist with finite radial gradient of plasma pressure and continuous current density, and that current density reversal is accompanied by pressure gradient reversal.